LISTEN TO US ON SATELLITE RADIO!

WE ARE CONTRIBUTORS TO “FFA TODAY” ON RURAL RADIO SIRIUS XM CHANNEL 147!  “FFA Today” airs on Rural Radio Sirius XM Channel 147 Saturdays at 7:30 AM Eastern and Sundays at 6:30 PM Eastern.

Please let RURAL RADIO know that you like hearing us on their channel!  Here is how to contact them and leave feedback:

Email: zacht@rfdtv.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialRFDTV
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RURALRADIO147

OFI 044: Matt Brechwald | 10,000 Download Review Show

Autumm, Hattie and I in a corn maze at the Farmstead in Kuna, Idaho.

SHOW NOTES

KEY IDEAS:

Today’s episode is a little bit different than normal.  We are right the pinnacle of reaching 10,000 downloads, so I wanted to catch everyone up on where we stand on the development of our business, farm, podcast, etc.

FARM:

Exciting things are happening at the farm.  Our irrigation system is completely functional, and we have planted pasture.  We now have green grass coming up where we once only had dry weeds.

Hay production is going well.  Our first cutting was enough to feed our animals for the entire winter.  That is always a nice feeling to know that the winter feed has been put up already and you don’t have to worry about that any longer.

Our cattle herd continues to grow.  We had three bull calves and one heifer calf again this year (identical order to last year as well).  We will sell the three steers direct to customers and retain the heifer to build our herd.  So that is two years in a row of retaining 1 heifer.  This is probably the right pace for our herd to grow.

There is surprising demand for the goats.  Last year we sold every goat to one customer who drove 140 miles to purchase them.  I still have not figured out this market, but it is exciting because we have some marginal areas on our place that are perfect for goats, and we are able to pay our entire irrigation bill with these little ruminants.

We will be having a litter of pigs in the week or so.  I am anxious see how many I can keep alive.  I really enjoy raising pigs.  So, I am hoping to get several of them weaned.

GOPHER BUSINESS: 

We have really grown this year so far.  We continue to be busy and to be booked weeks in advance.  I have hired two employees , so I am doing almost no extermination myself.  I am managing, marketing and bidding jobs almost exclusively.  There was a mild winter which has led to big populations of gophers, ground squirrels and voles.  The large populations has led to an outbreak of plague, if you can believe that, in the squirrels and voles.  So, all of this has created increasing demand for our service.

I had a company approach me to purchase my business.  But it turned out that they wanted to purchase a percentage and then have me grown the business throughout the Pacific Northwest.  I turned them down.  It was obvious that this was going to take a lot of nights away from home, and it would place the podcast in a much diminished role.  I’m in this for the lifestyle, not for riches at any cost!

You are welcome to check out what I have been doing with the business on the business website: www.idahogophercontrol.com.

FAMILY:

Autumm and Hattie are both on summer break right now.  4H is taking plenty of time.  Hattie is feeding and working with her sheep morning and evening.  We have meetings on Monday per month plus sheep showing practice every Thursday evening.  This is really a great time as we get to hang out with a bunch of agriculturally minded parents and watch our kids work with the animals.

We got away for one trip to my cousin’s wedding a couple of weeks ago.  We got to see a lot of family that I have not seen in quite some time.  Also, I was in the same room with all of my “first cousins” on my mom’s side for the first time in 20 or so years, and who knows when this will happen again:

PODCAST:

The podcast is going great.  I have been making unbelievable connections with agricultural people, both on and off the air, from around the country.  I have submitted demo cd’s to a couple of agricultural broadcasting networks.  As I was saying in the show, I have no idea if that will ever go anywhere, but I now have a mindset that causes me to try, not just sit back and wish.

I have been very excited with listener feedback.  And, with our sponsor, Heritage!  Andy Dyar is a great guy, with a great clothing line.  I am extremely flattered that he is rewarding the students we interview on our FFA SAE segment with hats and shirts.

COACHING:

I have coached five clients, all with different needs recently.  That has been an exciting development in the business, and something that I want to pursue further.  I have had one client who wanted advice on how to transition to a 100% agricultural life after retiring from his full-time career.  He was very interested in starting a business that would support his efforts.

Another client was looking to promote in his current job, and wanted coaching on some of the marketing techniques that I use with the podcast as well as the gopher business.  We shot a bunch of video and put it together as a professional, but outside the box introduction to his perspective new employer.

I have coached three different clients recently on how to create, edit, publish and use a podcast to further them in their businesses.  One of them is an author, the other a coach and the third a public relations director for a non-profit organization.  That has been a lot of fun.

I wanted to do this update just to let you know where we stand with the lifestyle we have chosen.  I think you deserve to know whether or not we are having success, since I get on the microphone twice per week and try to motivate you to chase your dream of farming and entrepreneurship.

If I can be any type of mentor, I would like to be one for you.  And, showing you that we are having success, having fun, staying out of debt and not about to lose the farm is how I can establish my credibility.

I am investing in myself, which I have been doing in one way or another since 2009.  I suggest that you do the same.  We have finally hit a level in our business that I can go a bit bigger in my personal investment.  Dan Miller suggests that you invest 3-5% of your gross annual income into yourself every year.  I am doing that this year.  I am going to his course – Coaching With Excellence in September, and I am going to sign up for Kent Julian’s Speaking Course as well.

I am psyched to improve my skills in these areas of my business, and I hope you will join me for the journey!